Before
by PepperX
Summary: Bella Swan is a witch with a vendetta to wipe out all the vampires and werewolves of the world. Beccer and Leah are the only two survivors from one mass murder in England. Their revenge plan forces them together, but can two sworn enemies work together?
1. Beginning of the End

_The first chapter of my new story... tell me what you think guys :)_

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**Salisbury, England - July 1944**

I rubbed my aching forehead and groaned. _What the hell happened?_

I opened my eyes to discover I was trapped under a huge wooden pillar. I tried to sit up but was prevented by a sudden pain in my side. Looking down to my right, I noticed there was a long piece of wood stuck in the side of my body. _Shit._ Unable to reach it, I decided that I'd have to push the pillar off first. I tried to lift it up, but almost immediately gave up wincing again at the immense pain. I frowned. There had to be some way of getting this stupid pillar off without being in agony.

"Hel-" I tried to shout, only to result into a rasping coughing fit. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Hello? Please, is anyone out there? Help! Please, I'm stuck!"

I sighed. Obviously no one could hear me.

I stared at the pillar again. If it wasn't for this dumb piece of wood in my side I could lift this thing of myself easily. I growled under my breath. _That goddamn'd piece of s-_

The pillar was slowly floating upwards off the ground.

I gasped and it fell back down on top of me. _Shit. _Was that me? Did I do that? I looked back at the pillar, frowning. Maybe I could get it off that way. I focused all my attention on it and willed it to move. I felt a chill go through my warm body and slowly, the pillar began to move upwards. When it was completely off me I directed it away and dropped it on the ground next to me with a crash.

I carefully stood up wincing and brushed the dust off my dress. I gave a gasp of surprise as my hand brushed against the bare skin of my left arm. My hands were _freezing. _My body ran above the temperature of a normal human being so nothing should feel cold to me. Not even my own skin.

Deciding that it was probably loss of blood or something I yanked the piece of wood out of my side with a gasp of pain. Looking down, I surveyed the damage to my side. Luckily it was a clean cut and the wood hadn't splintered. Though it was very deep it wouldn't heal for a few hours. Not for the first time I felt immensely grateful that I wasn't human. I also noticed for the first time the three broken fingers on my right hand. I sighed and forced them back in place with a loud crack.

I ripped the hem off my floor length dress and tied the dirty material around the injury to stop the blood going everywhere. When that was done I looked around me, trying to work out what had happened. _Where am I? _I noticed a familiar looking sofa. It was ripped and trapped under a piece of collapsed roof. I frowned. Where had I seen that before? Suddenly, I recognised where I was – it was my house.

_Damn. _

I heard a creaking sound coming from the remaining roof above me. Deciding that it probably wasn't going to be safe in here for very much longer I climbed towards the doorframe and stumbled outside into the glaring sunlight.

Breathing in the clean air to my rasping throat, I looked at the crumbled house trying to remember what had happened.

"_Matt, stop being such a woman you look fine. Get away from that mirror or we're going to be late."_

_He turned and looked back at me. His eyes were sad and tinged red at the edges. _

_"Are you sure that you really want to go?" I asked, worried. "She did say you didn't have to if it was uncomfortable for you." Damn right it would be uncomfortable for him. It would be hell for him. That stupid bitch, she always found a way to hurt him but keep the sugar coating. "We can just stay if you want to." I said out loud._

_"No I'm ok. I'm going." He smiled unconvincingly. "What are we waiting for?" _

_I groaned at his forced enthusiasm and followed him out the door…_

Ignoring the pain in my side I limped towards a pile of rubble and sat down. I closed my eyes and searched back through my memory.

_As the sound of the organ started up I turned to my right and gave my best friend Matt an encouraging smile. We were sitting in the third pew from the back of the church. All eyes were fixed on the isle as the doors opened and the bride walked out. _

_I reached out and squeezed Matthew's hand. He turned around and I looked at him concerned. He gave me a weak smile then turned back to the bride walking up the isle. I joined him, watching until she reached the groom waiting at the alter. The groom gave her a soppy smile and I felt Matt stir beside me. I squeezed his hand again to comfort him…_

Of course, it had been Alexander's wedding - his wedding to the girl that was the object of Matt's unrequited love. I had gone with him as moral support. I closed my eyes again and returned to my memories. This time it was a very different scene.

_I heard screams coming from all sides. We were outside now. I looked up to see Alexander's newly wedded wife using the power she had hidden from us to kill the remains of my family and her new family alike. _

_An unconscious body landed at my feet. Looking down, I recognised who it was. I crouched down and tried to revive him. _

"_Matt? Matthew, please wake up. Come on Matt please." Finally, from beneath me he began to stir._

"_Beccer?" he whispered. "What's happening?"_

"_Come on we need to get somewhere safe." I said, pulling him up. _

"_Matthew, my _darling_." Came a voice close to us. We both looked up. "Oh Matt, you really were such an easy one to mess with." The murderous bride smiled silkily. "And you, Beccer, although you were the only one of the werewolves that didn't trust me, you never expected this did you?"_

_I growled at her. "You bitch. Why are you doing this?"_

"_Now that's no way for a young lady to speak." She laughed. "And witch, would be more appropriate really. But I won't be fussy."_

"_Y-you're a _witch_?" I gasped._

"_Why for someone deemed so intelligent, you really are so slow. Yes, I'm a witch and you and your kind has annoyed me for eternity. I _must_ destroy them."_

"_You're slaughtering my family because … because we _annoy _you?" I struggled to get my head around it. How deranged was this bitch?_

_She didn't answer me. "Matthew," She crooned. "Darling, you're not saying much. Don't you have anything to say to your sweetheart?"_

"_You led me on." He said tonelessly beside me. "You used me to get to the pack."_

"_Oh yes. Well done_._"_

"_And, and you used Alexander to get to – to the-"_

"_To get to the vampires. Yes." She laughed again. "Everybody's working it all out now. Such a shame it's too late isn't it?"_

_Suddenly there was a cry from our right as my brother ran towards her with a long wooden pole in his mouth in an attempt to stake her. She laughed again, flipped up her hand and sent him flying in the air at high speed, until he hit a tree and fell to the ground with a whine, blood dripping out of his head. _

"_No!" I yelled and tried to run towards him. Matthew held me back._

"_It's too late." He said sadly as she used her magic to rip him apart before my eyes. Taking advantage of her distraction we ran looking for safety. All around us there were screams of terror from my friends and family. Finally, we reached my house and ran inside. We stood in the kitchen catching our breath. Around us, the house began to shake. We ran to the door but before we could make it the ceiling collapsed, blocking all the exits. _

"_Quick, under the table!" _

_We both scrambled under the table as the house began to crumble above us. From outside we heard the screams of Matthew's little sister, Florence. The wall collapsed and we could see her. We both started towards her, but the house gave another shudder, dislodging the wooden pillar that stood in the middle of the room. It fell and pinned me to the ground. Matt looked back and faltered._

"_Go!" I shrieked. "Leave me goddammit! Go help her Matt!"_

_Any other day he'd have scolded me for using that sort of language. He was a great friend but he didn't like my 'improper and un-ladylike' language as he called it. Right now however__,__ his mind was on more pressing matters._

_After a moments hesitation he ran out through the gap after his sister. I watched him go, willing for them both to be okay. The house shook again and the rest of the ceiling fell through, piling another mountain of rubble on top of me. A brick fell from the room above and hit me on the head, sending me unconsciousness. I felt yet more rubble fall onto me as I slipped quietly into the darkness…_

Grunting at the pain, I stood up and walked past the ruins of my house. _Matthew…_he should be around here somewhere. Maybe, _maybe_ he was still alive. I limped to the spot where I had seen him last, and slowly a terrible scene came into view.

Strewn all around the street were the blood splattered bodies of all the people I cared about. My brother, leaning against the tree, his bloody insides surrounding his broken body. Michael, my pack's alpha and Matthew's older brother was lying face down on the ground, his entire body twisted unnaturally. Next to him was little Joseph, the newest edition to the pack, barely 13 years old. Both his legs were split open from thigh to ankle, the blood still seeping out to the ground, his glassy eyes still fixed in a state of terror.

To his right there was a mound of burning bodies - The Thompsons, or as I knew them, the vampires. The adopted family of Alexander. I hadn't liked any of them in life -particularly his 'sister' Leah) - but I still flinched at the sight of the burning corpses. No one deserved that.

Something yellow caught my eye behind the flaming mass. I squinted, trying to work out what it was. It was a shirt caught on an open gate.

Matthew had been wearing a shirt that exact shade.

Taking care not to look at any other faces around me, I scrambled over to the gate. When I reached it I found that the back wall of the house had collapsed and the yellow shirt was sticking out from under it. I tried to lift it, but again the throbbing pain in my side prevented me.

Maybe I could lift it like I had lifted the pillar. I mentally felt around for the energy that had given me the power to move the pillar before. Finding it, I focused it on the collapsed wall in front of my and willed it into lifting upwards. As before, I directed it away and it crashed back down to the floor. _Hmm. Need to work on that bit._ Then I looked down at what the wall had been hiding and gasped in pain. I looked away from the mess at my feet and sunk to the floor as a fresh wave of tears gushed out. I felt a stabbing pain inside me but knew that it wasn't caused by any physical injury.

Finally, I summoned up all the energy I could, and stood up. I wiped the tears from my eyes. _Shit. _Now I remembered what had happened. Now I remembered who had caused this. Alexander Thompson's blushing bride, Matt's subject of unrequited love,

Isabella Swan.

I returned to the wreckage of my house and somehow found my bedroom. Trying to ignore my ruined home, I grabbed a bag and filled it with a few belonging - a few dresses, a spare pair of shoes and a couple of photographs of my friends and family. As I carefully climbed back down the hazardous staircase I spotted a box of matches by the fire place in the lounge.

_Protect our secret._ My father's voice said in my head. _Protect our kind._

I went to pick them up, lit a match and set fire to the curtains. As the room began to catch light I quickly went back outside. I did the same to all the other wrecked houses. _Protect our secret. Protect our kind. _I chanted in my head.

Finally the matches ran out and my work was done. The tiny village looked like it'd been hit by a bomb. No one would be able to tell what had really happened. For the first time I thanked God for the Great War.

I limped off towards the woods away from the devastating scene. I stopped when I reached them and turned around. Looking around at the ruins that had once been my home, I vowed that some day I would make that bitch pay.

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_Heyy it's me again PepperX...... NEW STORY_

_Are you excited? I know I am._

_Okay so you have to keep an open mind with this one, it's very different to my other two, but other than the whole anti-Bella thing all the characters keep the same personalities as they have in the books... _

_So... tell me what you think and the rest will come soon I promise... I have like 17 chapters written already :)_

_More details and explanations will come with the next chapter.. Ask any questions before then and I'll answer them in my author's note :)_

_Loves ~ _

_PepperX_


	2. Nightmares

**A/N: all important stuff at the bottom...**

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**Oslo City Capital, Norway - Five Years Later.**

I surveyed the devastation in front of me. It was a scene that I was now very familiar with. It was the same scene that was left behind every time by the girl that I was following.

Isabella Swan.

That foul witch that had murdered everyone and everything dear to me in cold blood and I had been following her ever since. Unfortunately, I always seemed to arrive too late.

I kicked the piece of rubble by my foot. _Damn witch. _Bella had never stayed in a place as long as she had where I had lived. She had stayed in my village for around 3 years. In the villages she had been in since, she'd only stayed in them for a matter of days. The difference was that these were human villages. They were wiped out easily. They were just her killing time as she searched out her true prey: the vampires and werewolves.

_What a bitch._

I scanned the defeated site for survivors, but it was obvious that yet again I was too late to do anything. _Shit. _I kicked the piece of rubble again in frustration. This time it flew right up into the air and smashed one of the few remaining windows. The village had also already been mostly burnt to the ground. Well that saved me a job.

I sighed in defeat and realising that I hadn't slept for two nights, looked around for a place to kip. After a short search I discovered the small, sheltered remains of a room. It was starting to rain. I quickly hopped through the huge hole in the wall and gave the room a five second safety assessment. Once it had been awarded my 10 points of approval I walked over to the huge stack of bricks, still cemented together that had been blasted from the wall.

I shivered as the cold energy flowed through to my hands and the bricks began to move. I coaxed them towards me until they covered the gap in the wall. Carefully I let them down on the floor. There was no crash as there had been the first time. Practice had seen to that.

The wind was now completely obstructed by the bricks. I smiled satisfied with my work. I cleared a space on the floor, set my bag down beside me and laid down to sleep.

_There were screams from all around me. But I couldn't move. I watched, powerless as my brother was brutally murdered only metres away from me. _

"_No!" I screamed._

_Then from behind me came another voice._

"_Beccer? Beccer I'm scared." I turned around. It was Simon Manfield, the seven year old boy that lived next door to me. His sky blue eyes were wide with fright. I started towards him but again I was held back. It was impossible to move. He shrieked in panic as an unseen force began to rip him apart, limb by limb. I screamed and struggled to move as he was devoured before my eyes._

_A brick fell from the sky and hit me on the head, sending me into an unconscious darkness. As I slipped into the black cloud surrounding me I heard the cold, female laughter…_

I woke up with a start. I wiped the mixture of tears and sweat from my face and tried to get rid of the remains of the nightmare in my mind. I'd had the same nightmare every night for the past two years but it'd had never failed to send me into a state of panic. I breathed in and out slowly, trying to soothe my fast beating heart and concentrated on the sounds outside to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and listened to the wail of the wind and through that, the mice scuttling over the burnt rubble outside. I concentrated harder and heard the flowing water of the stream about half a mile away.

Then, from nowhere, another sound appeared. It was much closer, and was very different to the other sounds. I focused on that one sound intently, determined to work out what it was. It was definantly some sort of creature I decided. The creature seemed to be trying to be quiet as its movements were careful and gentle. The sound was definantly familiar to me in some way, if not very distantly. I frowned, trying to find the heart beat.

There didn't seem to be one.

Deciding I'd better take a look I got up and quietly moved the bricks from the giant gap in the wall. I stepped lightly out the gap and into the early morning.

There was a rustle in the bush by the remains of a house. I quickly, but quietly sprinted over. There was nothing there. A prickling feeling came across my back as if someone was watching me. I whipped my head around at lightning speed but again, no one was there. A smell reached my nose. It was a horribly sickly sweet smell that burned the back of my throat. A horrible smell that was distantly familiar …

There was a noise behind me. I turned around. There, standing in front of me was a girl about the age of seventeen. She had dark black hair, white porcelain skin and bright amber eyes that regarded me with a shocked expression.

"_Beccer_?" Asked Leah.

I screamed.

-~\*/~-

I ate another spoonful of my badly overcooked beans and I regarded the girl sitting opposite me suspiciously. The girl watched me back with a similar expression.

I noticed the glint of silver under her cloak. I couldn't see the whole object but I knew what it was – it was a sword. I didn't know the ins and outs of it, but I knew she was pretty dangerous with it. I'd seen her in action once. She was lethal. As much as I hated to admit it to myself – I was scared of her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, finally breaking the silence. "I thought you were dead with the rest of your family."

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Dog." Leah said. I ignored the insult.

"But everyone was dead. When I woke up everyone was dead. If you'd been alive I would've noticed."

"I left shortly after _she_ did" She spat the word she as if it were poison in her mouth. "I realised it was too late for me to do anything so left. There was no one alive." She frowned. "Where were you?"

"I was trapped unconscious in the wreckage of my house."

"No wonder I didn't see you."

There was silence again. I shifted my weight uncomfortably and put my shaking hand into my pocket. I was sitting opposite my natural enemy and I didn't like it. Not at all. But I comforted myself in the fact that she was hating it as much as I was.

Leah broke the silence this time.

"You obviously didn't hang around long either." She said. "What have you been doing the past few years?"

"Just been tracking _her_." I didn't mention how bad I was at it. "She doesn't stay in any place long though. I keep missing her."

"Yeah. Same here."

"What have you been doing then?"

"I travelled for a while," She said vaguely. "Then I went after her, like you."

"Where did you travel to?" I asked, curious. Leah looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, you know… _around_." She said looking the other way. I frowned but didn't push it.

"How did you cope?" I asked after a minute.

"Just didn't think about it, I guess."

"Do- Do you miss them?"

"Who?"

"Your family, the Thompsons."

Leah stopped her breath short. She looked up at the mid morning sky away from me.

"Yeah." She finally croaked. "A lot."

"It's the same for me. They're always at the back of my mind. Especially the mental pictures of what was left behind."

"I - I don't really want to talk about any of it right now."

"Why not? It's the best way to help you through the pain. Honest."

"I really don't think its going to help in this situation. Trust me."

"Trust _you_?" I said, annoyed now. "That didn't work out too well last time I tried that, did it?"

Leah looked confused.

"Oh, it's okay," I said, imitating Leah's voice. "Bella and Alexander are perfect for each other. Matt will understand that in the future." Leah scowled as I continued. "I don't know why you don't like her, there's nothing wrong with her. She's good person. _Trust me._"

"Well, how was I to know what she was? I'm not a bloody psychic." Leah was beginning to shout now.

"At least _I_ noticed there was something wrong with her! At least _I_ suspected _something_."

"More like pissed off that she didn't pick your reject friend. You just made all that up so you could have grounds for complaints."

I was stunned.

"How- how dare you!" I shrieked. "There _was_ something obviously wrong with her! Just because you and your brother didn't work that out does _not_ mean you can pin it on me!"

"Yeah. You know it's true." Leah gloated, ignoring me. "You know that's what it was all about. You were just upset about your loser friend. Personally, I think you were wasting your time. I don't think he liked her anyway. I think he was just trying to cover up that fact that he was a homosexual _shit_."

I could no longer control the shaking. I gave in to the heat surging through my body and ripped through my clothes. I pounced on Leah and sunk my teeth into the hard, stone-like leg. Also angry now Leah fought back, resulting in two of my fingers being broken. With a howl of pain I threw myself back at her with a bigger force than before. She was knocked backwards at first but regained my balance and thrust myself back.

Eventually we both calmed down and the fighting stopped. Grunting with pain, Leah dragged herself back to the place she had been sitting. I limped over to my bag, picked it up in my teeth and went to find somewhere to Merge back. Using my teeth I shook out my last remaining dress, Merged back and put it on. I was going to have to be careful with my temper until I got near to any clothes shops. _Stupid leech._ Discovering the broken fingers I forced them back into place with a loud crack.

Once dressed, I picked up the bag in my hand and walked back to the place Leah was sitting. I then noticed a long, deep cut from my shoulder to elbow, probably caused by Leah's nails.

"Bitch…" I muttered under my breath. Leah smiled to herself and then realising that her right hand had been ripped off stuck it back on.

_Gross._ I thought as I picked up the remains of my previous dress from the floor and tied a piece of the scrapped material around my arm to prevent the blood from the already healing cut from going anywhere.

Leah watched with a bemused expression.

"What you grinning at bloodsucker?"

"A very, _very_ funny show."

I narrowed my eyes but slumped to the ground without retaliating. I needed to keep this dress in one piece. It was my last one.

I pulled at the grass, trying to keep myself calm.

_Stupid leech._

Suddenly there was a noise coming towards us. Footsteps. We both listened carefully. They were human footsteps.

"I think we'd better move before they think we've got something to do with this." Leah gestured towards the mess all around us.

I nodded in agreement and we walked together towards the woods.

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**Hiii...**

**Okay so a lil explanation... Once upon a time (in 2007) myself, stonecoldheart27 and a-lil-angel were all sitting at the back of our english class and we decided we didn't like the end of eclipse so we wrote another chapter, writing ourselves in it and Bella out. We then discovered this site and forgot about that story. Two years later I remembered it and started writing the back story for what we had written - what happened before that (hence the name). So here we go, this is the product....**

**It's an anti-bella story and it's gonna be a loooooong one (that's what she said). I guess it will have a bit of romance (especially at the end) but overall it's a story about a vampire and a werewolf who are thrown together in a situatuon and become friends. It starts in the 1940s and will tie into the end of eclipse when it gets to 2007. I think it's going to have to be in at least two if not three parts because it'll be so long, but hey it'll be fun :)**

**Just so I don't get busted by the powers that be: There will be some on the original characters in this, Bella Swan turns up and we meet Alec (Volturi), there will most likely be more but I haven't written those bits yet lmao. In the other parts there will certainly be more.**

**Yeah so... enjoy **

**Loves ~**

**PepperX**


	3. Tin Box

**Stavanger**,** Sola**,** Norway - 1949**

We had been running for hours and I was exhausted. From the ruined village in Oslo, we'd followed the bitch's scent almost to the other side of Norway. I hadn't slept at all for a few days now, excluding the few hours I managed to get the day before. I didn't allow myself complain about it though. No way was I letting myself to look weak in front of my enemy.

That was one thing that I couldn't get my head around. It's not like I'd made a conscious decision to stick with Leah, I doubt she had either. Yet here we were an entire day later still together. Maybe it was our similar situations and pasts that stuck us together…

I smiled to myself remembering what Matt used to call her. He'd named her Countess Elizabeth Báthory after some crazy serial killer lady from the fifteen hundreds. Apparently Leah'd had a very violent past before she turned 'vegetarian' and Matthew had found that very amusing.

"Smells like she was headed for the port." Countess Lizzy said.

"What?" I looked up suddenly from my thoughts. "You mean Stavanger Airport?"

"Yes." I felt my face pale. "What's wrong Mutt? Scared of flying?"

"It's unnatural." I mumbled. "If man was meant to fly, he'd have been born with wings."

"Lucky we're not men then, eh?" She winked. "Why are you so scared anyway? You've flown before right? I mean how did you get here?"

"No." I shook my head. "I got the boat here." I didn't mention how seasick I'd been.

"Well no wonder you're so far behind her."

I glared. "Well, if you're going so fast leech why haven't you caught up with her already?"

Leah pursed her lips and said nothing. I smirked to myself. _Ha got you there bloodsucker._

The smirk however was very quickly wiped off my face as we drew nearer to the airport. I began to dread getting on that airplane. Trapped in a tin box thousands of feet in the air? That didn't sound very safe to me. Even though I'd most likely heal immediately after, the irrational fear still chilled me to the core.

We walked into to the airport which was full of people speaking loudly in Norwegian. Somehow we managed to weave through the crowd to the board.

"How do we know which airplane she caught?" I asked looking at the huge list of flights and frowning.

"Smell around?" Leah shrugged. I nodded in agreement and without another word we split and began walking around the airport.

Most of the airports during the war had been taken over by the military. There was still evidence of that now, a year later. There were more military people than civilians here now. Judging by the uniforms and their language it seemed they were mostly Norwegian but I wondered if during the war any other troops were here.

I was just imagining Matthew's older brother Michael and our pack's alpha walking around this airport in his army uniform when the bitch's scent hit my nose. I followed it to the gate on the far left. I looked up and signalled to Leah who came over immediately to join me.

"You know," She said as she reached me. "I've just realised how short you really are."

"Don't even start." I glared at her. That was a sore point and she knew it.

"I mean seriously." She grinned clearly enjoying this. "How are you even a werewolf? I thought they were supposed to be really big and tall."

I glared at her until she shut up.

"Can we get back to the subject please?"

"Fine." Leah was still grinning. "So she took the flight to Scotland then?" She said looking at the board.

"Looks like it."

"Let's go get some tickets then." I grimaced again at the thought of the plane but didn't say anything. At least on the airplane I'd be able to sleep.

We walked up to the desk where a blonde woman was sat writing something on a piece of paper.

"Excuse me." Leah said. "We need some tickets to Edinburgh." The woman looked confused.

"I don't think she speaks English."

"Well that's just great. I don't speak Norwegian. Do you?"

"No." I shook my head and went into my bag. "I picked up a phrase book the other day though."

"Ah good dog."

I growled under my breath quietly but otherwise let it slide. I flicked through the book for the relevant section.

"Um." I bit my lip. There was no way this poor woman was going to understand my bad accent. "Kan jeg få to billett til Edinburgh…?"

The woman still looked confused so I showed her the sentence in the book. Comprehension flashed across her face and she said something very fast in Norwegian while shaking her head.

"What did she just say?" Leah asked.

"I have no idea, didn't sound good though." I frowned and looked back through the phrase book. "…Er det noen som kan engelisk her?"

"Jeg tror slik ikke." The woman said shaking her head. "Ingen som er flytende."

"What did you just ask her?"

"If there was anyone who speaks English here."

"And she said _no_? What kind of airport is this?"

The woman called to one of her airport friends in Norwegian. He walked over looking confused and they spoke extremely fast. It looked like the woman was explaining the situation to him.

"Hang on," I said as something occurred to me. "How are you going to get on a plane with that?" I gestured to the sword well hidden under her cloak.

"Never had a problem with it before." She shrugged.

"Well I-…"

"You…engelisk?" The man interrupted us. We nodded. "No…billett today. Only for tomorrow."

"Um." Leah blinked. "What?"

"I think you have to pre-book." I said and the man nodded.

"Well that's just great."

"Beklager."

"Yeah, yeah lady… beg-larger to you too."

"I think she was apologising." I rolled my eyes as we walked away.

"Well apologies don't really help right now."

I shook my head as we went to stand by the doorway. "So what are we going to do?"

"No idea." Leah shrugged.

"You could always use your... err... special vampire abilities." I grinned knowing what the reaction would be.

"Urgh what? On _him_?" Leah's face was a picture of disgust.

"Or _her_, you know... if you'd prefer..."

"I don't swing that way thanks. And _urgh_ you know how much I hate doing that!"

"Well, do you want to catch this bitch or what?"

She glared at me and I smiled sweetly back, thoroughly enjoying this. She continued to glare at me for a few seconds until finally she sighed.

"_Fine_." She gave me one final glare and stalked off to find the man. _Haha, one point to Beccer._

I smiled to myself and watched the people walking by. A few minutes later Leah returned with a scowl fierce enough to scare away a lion.

"You owe me Dog."

"Did you get the tickets?" She held up two pieces of card and I grinned. "Excellent, when does it leave?"

"Ten minutes. Seemed to me there was a couple of free seats and he pulled a few strings to get us them."

"Good let's go then." We made our way through the gate and joined the queue of people waiting for the same flight. On the way there the man Leah had been forced to seduce in order to get our tickets smiled at her and waved. I giggled and she glared at me.

"If you _ever_ make me do that again..."

I smirked to myself as we joined the slow moving cue.

"Hey look," Leah laughed as the queue moved into another room. "One of your distant relatives."

I looked up to see a group of security men with sniffer dogs. My good mood was gone in an instant.

"Oh har har."

"You know, when this is all over you could get a job here." She grinned. "I'm sure they welcome all breeds." I glared at her but she didn't stop. "Oh hey, a dog that's even smaller than you! I didn't think that was possible! He looks interested… I'd watch out if I were you, its mating season isn't it?"

I pursed my lips and tried to control the shaking. After what felt like centuries to me, we finally came into the waiting room.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I muttered. She grinned and waved, clearly finding the whole thing very amusing indeed.

I locked the cubicle door behind me, sat on the toilet seat and buried my head in my hands. _Urgh that stupid leech_. She was going to be the death of me! I _hated_ her! I hated her so much!

I made myself breathe through my mouth and hummed an old French lullaby to calm myself down. Eventually the shaking stopped and I had no choice but to go back out to the waiting room.

"Feeling better?" She smiled sweetly as I sat down.

"No thanks to you." I muttered.

We were silent for a few minutes. Leah stared out the window with a frown on her face.

"What's up with you?"

"I want to make it rain, but it'll slow our airplane down."

_Huh?_ Oh that was right. I'd forgotten Leah could control the weather. I remember me and my pack weren't exactly pleased when we found that some of the vampires had extra powers.

Leah had been able to control the weather, her adopted brother Harvey had been able to see through any solid object and her adopted sister Harriet had been what they called a 'tracker'. Thankfully the other three in their 'family' - Lisette and Oliver, their adoptive parents and Alexander their other adoptive brother – were normal. Well, as normal as a vampire can get.

None of the werewolves had any either. At least that's what we'd thought… Who knew I'd end up telekinetic?

I looked down at my hands. Despite the cold magic inside me begging to be used I forced it back. I'd decided not to tell Leah about it – keeping something like that seemed like a good idea to me. If she suddenly turned against me I'd have something up my sleeve.

"Don't you _like_ the sun or something?"

"No way." She shuddered. "Nasty thing."

"I guess that's why it's been cloudy since the day I met you."

"Bingo." Leah grinned. I rolled my eyes. God, did I hate her…

One of the airport workers came in then and called our flight. We got up and followed the other people through door into another room where they were checking passports.

"Shit," Leah swore quietly. "Please tell me you have a passport."

"Of course I do." I rolled my eyes. "How do you think I got here?"

"Thank god." She sighed then grinned. "Real or faked?"

"Faked." I laughed. "I met some guy in France last year called René Lefevre who made one for me."

"I got mine done in Japan by a guy named Reita Saski." She laughed with me. "He was really kind of nice. Shame he was human."

"Nice." We both laughed then stopped abruptly, realising we were getting on way too well for sworn enemies. What would my father have said if he'd seen that? Or my brothers... or the rest of my pack for that matter...

We made our way through to the plane in silence. We found our seats that were situated near the back of the plane.

"Window or isle?" Leah asked me.

"Isle." I answered immediately. If I was going to be sick I wanted a clear runway to the bathroom.

We sat in the seats and I looked around the tin can, trying not to imagine how high in the sky it was going to be when something occurred to me. I turned to the leech next to me.

"Are you going to be okay in here?" I asked.

"What?" She asked confused.

"You're not going to... uh... get hungry in here are you. With all the blood fumes trapped in such a small place?" I really didn't want a Countess Elizabeth Báthory on me.

"Of course I will." She stuck her head up stubbornly. I nodded unconvinced and looked at the ticket in my hand.

"Hey," I said frowning. "I think this flight calls at Amsterdam before Edinburgh. How do we know she didn't get off and stay there?"

"We'll just have to have a smell around." She shrugged. "That's all we can do. How long does it hang around?"

"An hour and forty five minutes it looks like."

She nodded. "Well we'll just have to have a sniff around the airport. If it looks like she stayed there we will. If not we'll carry on."

"Okay." I nodded as the plane began to move and the flight attendants got up to show the exits. I gripped the chair tightly and bit my lip again, dreading the flight. Leah watched me with an amused expression she obviously didn't understand how nasty travel sickness could be.

To my surprise, the lift off actually wasn't that bad and I found that if I pretended that we weren't hundreds of feet in the air I didn't feel ill at all. I smiled to myself. This was great! I was definatly getting planes everywhere I travelled.

"I'm going to try and sleep." I yawned. "Don't eat anyone will you?" She didn't appear to appreciate my joke.

"That's not even funny." She glared. I smiled at her innocently, got myself comfortable and closed my eyes.

* * *

Heyyy.... aww i love these two :) ...(Beccer being the best of course)

Thanks for all the Faves/Alerts guys, a few reviews would be nice though ;) ...... Ummm there was something else I was going to say... :\ Oh yeah, I apologise for my translator Norwegian... :S I hope it's right... but if not, I apologise if any Norwegian speakers are offended :)

....My hand's bleeding D:

Lmao

Loves~

PepperX


	4. Peanuts

**Amsterdam, Netherlands - 1946**

I stirred and opened my eyes. We were still on the plane, flying over a huge stretch of water.

"We there yet?" I asked as I sat up. Leah nodded but didn't say anything. I smiled, slightly amused. "Have you held your breath the _entire_ journey?"

She didn't answer, instead just gave me a condescending look and turned to the window. Wow, she'd held her breath the entire hour and thirty five minutes... I knew they could do that but I was also aware how uncomfortable it was supposed to be. I guess maybe she was more committed to the vegetarian idea than we'd ever given her credit for.

I pushed that thought out of my mind and moved into a more comfortable position in the chair.

"How long have we got left?" I asked.

"About fifteen minutes." She replied curtly, not even turning to look at me. _Moo-dy... Talk about Báthory_ _moment…_ I suppressed a smile and left her alone.

"Would you like any refreshments?" The trolley lady asked.

"Not for me thank you." I smiled at her.

"And you friend?"

I saw out the corner of my eye, Leah stiffen at the word friend. I didn't blame her. I was offended too.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want anything either." I snapped and turned away.

About fifteen minutes later we arrived in Amsterdam. The landing wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I didn't feel ill at all. I decided I liked airplanes - they seemed to agree with my stomach.

We followed the crowd of people off the plane and through the security area until we were in the huge, crowded gate room. We split up to smell around.

"Found the scent yet?" I asked when we'd met back up.

"Yeah, just down to the waiting room for Edinburgh. Doesn't look like she went anywhere else."

"So we're off to Edinburgh then?"

"Looks like it." She nodded. "How long until our flight, Dog?"

I ignored the insult and looked at the tickets. "About an hour. Want to go look round Amsterdam?"

"No."

"Fine then." I raised my eyebrows. "You stay here you moody cow. _I'll_ go look around."

"_Fine_."

She stormed off and I turned to leave the airport. I wasn't aiming to go anywhere in particular – I didn't know Amsterdam well enough to want to go somewhere. I just needed to walk around outside a bit.

I walked the streets aimlessly for a bit until I came across a pretty bridge. I perched myself on the edge of a wall and pulled my sketchbook out of my bag. I began to feel more relaxed as I drew the scene in front of me, listening only to the sounds of the city.

Finally it was time to go. I sighed, put my stuff back into my bag and walked back to the airport. I found Leah in the waiting room, staring blankly at the white wall in front of her.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked as I sat a seat away from her.

"Nothing." She glared at me then resumed her staring.

"Sorry I asked." I muttered and shuffled in my seat to make myself more comfortable.

We sat like that for a few minutes, neither of us saying a word. I tapped my fingers on my knee, absolutely bored out of my mind.

How did I get stuck with this moody leech? Why did I deserve this? Had I wronged someone in a past life or something? It was beyond cruel…

"It's just…" Leah began, then stopped. _Okay then… _She looked like she was going to say something else, but stopped herself again. "Let's go."

She got up and followed the crowd through to the plane. I followed after her. _What the hell was that...?_

-~\*/~-

"Can I have the window seat this time?" I grinned. Now that I was sure I wasn't going to spew I wanted to see what was going on.

"Whatever." Leah shrugged like she didn't care.

We settled into our seats and the plane lifted off. I knew I should probably sleep - who knew when I was going to get another chance - but I really couldn't be bothered. Instead, I looked out the window and watched the houses on the tiny streets below. All too soon however, the streets disappeared and we began flying over the sea. There was nothing interesting to watch any more so I turned back to face forwards.

Leah was facing dead ahead of her again, obviously holding her breath. She looked so ridged and funny. I suppressed a smile. I didn't want Countess Báthory coming out to play when we were trapped in here with all these humans.

I sighed and lay my head back on the chair closing my eyes. This was so _boring_.

"Would you like any refreshments?"

I opened my eyes quickly and looked at the trolley. I was _starving_.

"I dunno...um… bread and a bottle of water please?"

"Certainly love." The lady smiled. "What currency you payin' in?"

"Um... Norwegian?"

"21.05 then please."

I handed her the money and she handed back the bread and water.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked Leah as I opened the packaging.

"No." Leah replied in her usual curt voice. _Moody_ _cow_...

"Sure?"

"Definatly."

I giggled and the woman left looking slightly confused at Leah's rudeness. Leah glared at me and I quickly went back to my sandwich. I really didn't want to get her angry and endanger these humans' lives.

The sandwich was gone in a manner of minutes and the water was soon to follow. I stared ahead of me now, so bored. _Maybe I _should_ try to sleep_...

I tapped my fingers on my knee and hummed under my breath. Maybe I could try to engage conversation with my... companion.

"So..." I began. Leah glared at me. _Uh_... "Um... what... uh... do you do in your spare time?"

"_What_?"

"You heard."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to engage in conversation. I'm _bored_ okay?" _Bored enough to talk to you._

"I think I prefer you asleep." _Bitch_... Well I definatly wasn't sleeping now. Not now I knew she liked it.

"Why won't you just talk to me?" Sheesh I didn't smell that bad, nowhere near as bad as her. "You look just as bored out of your head as I am."

"Um..." She pretended to think. "Because you're a dog?"

"Urgh _fine_! _Be_ bored out of your mind. I don't care."

I narrowed my eyes at her and slumped back in my seat. _Now what?_ I sighed and twiddled my thumbs. _Bored, bored, bored, bored..._

"We'll meet again..." I began to sing quietly under my breath. "...don't know where, don't know when..." I noticed Leah grind her teeth in annoyance and I carried on with a grin, getting louder. "But I know we'll meet again, some sunny day..." She hissed under her breath and I got even louder. "Keep smiling through, just like you always do... 'Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away... So will you plea-…"

"SHUT UP!"

"What did I do?"

"You know what you did."

"Sorry but I don-..."

"Anything from the trolley?" The trolley lady was back.

"More bread?" I smiled. She handed it over and I swapped it for the money.

"And you?" She asked Leah.

"No."

"Are you _sure_?"

"Urgh! Fine! A bag of peanuts."

I laughed out loud this time at the poor woman's shocked face. Leah paid her and the lady all but ran away.

"Well done." I sighed as I began to eat. "Now she won't come back."

"You have enough food. That's your _second_ lot."

"I might want more."

"I swear all you do is eat."

"That's not true." See this is the type of conversation I'd needed earlier.

"It definatly is."

"Yeah, yeah." I went back to my sandwich and Leah opened the packet of peanuts. She took a few out and began flicking them at the people sitting around us. I bit my lip trying not to laugh as they turned around trying to work out who it was.

"Excuse me Miss." One of the flight attendants tapped her on the shoulder. "We've been getting complaints about some... uh… peanuts."

I turned my face to the window so he wouldn't see me trying not to laugh.

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Leah shrugged. "I don't have any peanuts." _Yeah, only because you chucked them at everyone... _"I don't even _eat_ peanuts." _Well at least that part was true..._

"Well whatever is going on, please could it stop."

Leah smiled innocently at him until he walked away. I shook my head at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Finally the plane began to descend and landed on the runway. It drove along to the gate and came to a halt.

"Welcome to Edinburgh." The voice overhead said.

* * *

**Lmao, peanuts...**

**I love you Stonecoldheart27 you sexy beast ;)**

**Loves ~**

**PepperX**


	5. Gentlemen

**Edinburgh, Scotland – 1946**

"Well here we are." I faked enthusiasm as we stepped out of the airport.

"Yay?" Leah grimaced. I rolled my eyes.

"So want to split up to smell around or what?"

"I'll do the smelling." _Quelle surprise_… "I mean I need to… um… feed…" _Urgh_… "And you probably need to pick up supplies for yourself. You know clothes, food and shit…"

Well I guess that was true. I was wearing my last dress and the food and water in my bag would only last a few more days at most. Especially the rate I ate at.

I turned to say goodbye to Leah but she'd already disappeared. _Bitch_. Why did she have to be the one of the Thompsons that survived? Why couldn't it have been Harriet? At least she was a happy leech.

I rolled my eyes and walked into the town. I decided to buy my clothes first – I was in my last dress right now and if anyone got me angry I'd well and truly be fucked. I'd have to ask _Leah_ for help. I shuddered at that thought and walked into the clothes shop.

I grabbed a few dresses that looked like my size – nothing special, rationing really sucked. I couldn't wait until we could finally use money again instead of these stupid coupons. Not bothering to try them on I brought them to the desk and paid for them with the coupons I'd saved up.

After I was topped up on clothing I ran over to a small corner shop to pick up some travel-friendly food – mostly beans and other tinned food.

As I handed over the payment for my purchases my stomach rumbled. I sighed. I always seemed to be hungry and tired these days. It was difficult to get a decent meal and night's sleep when I was always on the move, especially as I couldn't use my money for food much. No, I had to use the stack of coupons I took from all the ruined villages the bitch had left behind. I usually picked up a few other things that were also of use to me – food, clothes, matches and so on. I didn't like taking other people's stuff but I comforted myself with the thought that wherever they were, they wouldn't be needing it.

As I walked down the street a bit until I passed a bakery. A gorgeous smell hit my nose. I closed my eyes and breathed it in with a smile. Fresh bread - that was something I hadn't smelt in a while.

I followed the amazing scent into the bakery and bought the biggest loaf in the shop with my coupons. I left the shop with my prize, bought a paper off a paperboy on the street and settled down on a bench.

The news seemed a little boring – same old, same old. Just clearing up after the war. I found myself reading less of the articles and looking more at the pictures. I stopped at one picture in particular. The woman – Marilyn Monroe as it said in the caption - in it looked so elegant and tidy. I frowned to myself. What did I look like? When was the last time I'd so much as looked in a mirror?

I stood up and went to check my reflection in a window. _Shit_… No wonder all the shop assistants had been looking at me funny. Even the paper boy had repressed a giggle. I looked a _mess_. I made a face and turned away from the window. I didn't want to see my exhausted and battered face any longer, not to mention my hair. I jingled the change in my pocket thoughtfully.

_Haircut_. I finally decided. What I really needed was a bath but I didn't want to have to pay to book in a hotel when I wasn't going to stay – money was tight enough as it was. I'd just have to find a clean-ish river next time I Merged.

"Can I help ya lass?" The woman asked as I walked into the hair salon.

"Desperate wash and cut needed." I smiled pointing at my hair.

"Take a seat on that wee chair in t'corner," The woman laughed. "I'll be wit'ya in a minute."

I took my designated seat and looked into the mirror in front of me. I grimaced at the sight. _Urgh,_ did I look a mess.

"So lassie," The lady was back. She began taking the pins out of my hair. "What're we doing with you?" She asked.

"Well definatly need a wash and um..." I looked up at the pictures of the women on the walls. "...something like that." I pointed to one of the pictures.

"That's a lot to cut off..."

I shrugged. Shorter hair would be much easier to manage. She nodded and, now finished with the hairpins, wrapped a towel around my shoulders and led me to the sink.

The lady, whose name I discovered was Dinah, chatted happily as she worked. I liked it. It was nice to have a friendly conversation with someone who wasn't permanently grouchy.

"So..." Dinah asked as she worked on the back of my head with a pair of scissors. "Judging on your cutesy accent, you're an English lass?"

"Yep." I smiled. "From right down South. Just a few miles from the coast."

"Ack, you're a long way from home missy."

"I'm... um... visiting my cousins." I lied.

"Oh how exciting!" Dinah gushed. "I had a cousin that lived down south. Always made fun of his accent. Said t'wasn't right for a lad to talk so soft-like and genteel..."

Finally she brushed the hair dregs off my shoulders. I paid her and left the salon. It was getting dark outside and there weren't many people out anymore. I was just about to look around for the leech when I spotted her standing under a lamppost leaning towards the window of the house next to her so she could listen to their radio.

"What did you _do_?" She asked when I reached her. She stared at my hair like it was personally offending her in some way.

"Had a haircut?"

"Yeah I can see that."

"I thought you went to hunt?" I frowned at her black eyes.

"Got side tracked." She shrugged.

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "Take it you didn't check around for any scent either."

"Sidetracked."

"Fine." I pursed my lips and began to walk away. She could at least have the decency to tell me what she'd done instead.

"Did I get you mad, mutt?" She was following me. I could hear the grin in her voice. _Bitch_.

"S'cuse us lass." Some guy stopped me.

"Can I help you?" I asked sceptically. How sleazy did this guy look?

"I think so." He grinned. "T'lads and m'self are lookin' for some company tonight."

"I don't think so." Leah snorted next to me. I looked over at the group of men he was gesturing to and I had to agree.

"Aww come on." One of them cheered.

"As much as I hate to say this, I'm afraid we're going to have to respectively _decline_." I said and began to walk away.

"Goodbye." Leah waved and followed after me.

"Aw don't go." One of them grabbed my arm.

"Take your hand off me, now."

"What's wrong love?" He grinned.

"I'm not joking." I frowned. "Get off or get hurt."

He laughed. I guess I could see his point of view. I was half his size after all.

One of the others tried to take Leah's arm. She glared at him so fearsomely he stumbled back.

"Johnny," He said. "I'm not sure this is such a great idea."

"I agree." Leah nodded. "Now _Johnny_, take your hand off my companion and go home, or you'll get hurt."

He didn't let go.

"Okay," I sighed. "You asked for it. Leah, how do you want to do this?"

"You can have big head Johnny-boy there. I'll take the rest."

"Fine with me." I looked at the guy, Johnny, who had some sort of perverted grin on his face. "Don't say I didn't warn you." I smiled innocently then punched him in the face.

"Ah bitch!" He yelled and staged back, holding his face in his hands.

I looked over to Leah who was taking on three guys at once. _Show off_... Johnny came over to me again his nose gushing blood.

"Go home." I shook my head. He didn't seem to hear me, so I kicked him in the crotch. Leah seemed to have already scared the others away and he ran after them.

"Well that was fun." Leah grinned as I brushed myself off. I laughed in agreement.

"Sometimes I really hate men."

"Excuse me lassies," I turned to see a policeman walking over. "I wouldn't be walking around here at this time. It's not safe for two women unaccompanied."

I tried not to smile at the irony. "Thank you for your concern, but we're okay."

"Can I call you a taxi or something...?"

"No that's fine." I smiled. "We're... um... going to meet my brother in a minute."

"If you're sure." He frowned, unconvinced. "Well you should at least cover up. It's a-cold tonight." He nodded towards my dress.

"I will."

"Okay we're going now." Leah steered my away.

"Thank you Officer." I smiled. "Have a nice night."

"Come on." Leah sighed.

"Now that's a real gentleman." I smiled.

"That's his job."

"But still..."

"In here." Leah nodded. I looked up to a sign that said The Old Waverly Hotel. "I frowned confused. "You can sleep." She explained. "I'll hunt and smell around."

"Um." I wasn't convinced. But then I thought about actually sleeping in a real bed for once and grinned. "Okay."

"And tomorrow you're buying a coat."

"But I don't need one. It's a waste of coupons."

"It's attracting too much attention."

"Fine." I sighed and we both walked into the hotel.

* * *

**Beccer doesn't like wearing unnecessary clothing, much like Leah dislikes wearing dresses. Unfortunatly for her she's got another fifteen plus years before society lets her wear trousers. Shame.**

**Loves~**

**PepperX**


	6. TwentyOne Year Old Angel

**Venice, Italy – 1956**

"You're steering the boat wrong!"

"It's not a boat, it's a gondola." Leah rolled her eyes. "And stop whining."

"Fine, _gondola_... You're going too fast!"

"Stop moaning."

"I'm going to be _sick_."

"You get sea sick?" She grinned sadistically. "_Excellent_."

"_Seriously_."

"You know dogs eat their own sick? Don't do that will you?"

I groaned and clutched my stomach. I swear she was making this boat rock more than it would have usually. _Bitch_...

"I think I'm going t-..." Before I could finish I doubled over and threw up everywhere.

"Eww." Leah shook the sick off her. "Gross."

"I did warn you."

"Urgh, you got it on my sword bitch." Well at least that made me feel better. "I just polished that."

"Get over it."

I looked up at the sky as we sailed down the Grand Canal and tried not to throw up again. Why couldn't we get a proper boat-man to steer the gondola? Why did Leah insist on stealing one and steering it herself? I shuddered as the boat made another sharp turn. I swear she was doing this on purpose.

We had followed the bitch's trail all the way here to Venice. It seemed like she'd just passed through. We couldn't work out why. Maybe she was into sight-seeing?

"Are we in Milan yet?" I joked.

"Do we _look_ like we're in Milan?"

God, she was moody as ever. Of course she was worse right now, she needed to feed. I could tell by the black eyes.

"Well how far is it until we get to the train station?"

"Not long, keep an eye on that map and you'll see."

I looked down at the map on my knee. I guess this way I'd at least be able to see what we were passing. _Ca' d' Oro... Fondaco dei Turchi... _I groaned and put the map away. Reading and seasickness wasn't a good mix.

Finally we slowed down.

"Here we go."

I sighed in relief and jumped out the boat onto solid ground the second we stopped. We abandoned the gondola in the port and made our way to the train station.

"Toilets first." Leah said when we got there. "I want to get the contents of your stomach off me."

"Hey I told you I was going to throw up. You should've moved."

"I didn't think you really would."

"Well maybe next time you'll listen."

"Well maybe next time I'll push you in." She smiled at me innocently and I glared back.

In the toilets we both made our way straight to the sinks. While Leah dabbed the sick off her dress and sword, I did my best to wash my mouth out. Giving up with just the water idea I took my toothbrush and toothpaste out of my bag. I was really low on toothpaste but this was desperate.

"Done yet?" Leah asked, then spotted the toothpaste in my hand. "Oo minty freshness. I didn't know they sold toothbrushes for dogs."

"Har har." What was this insult Beccer day? "Let's just get the train already."

We'd decided to take the train to Milan as it meant I could sleep and travel at the same time. Yet again, I had gone several days without sleeping and I was definatly feeling the consequences.

We waited on the platform for only a few minutes before our train arrived. It wasn't very busy at all and we got a compartment all to ourselves. I sat back in the seat and closed my eyes with a smile.

"You're not going to throw up on me this time are you?"

"Depends," I smiled, keeping my eyes closed. "I guess you'll just have to be nice to me."

She obviously didn't realise I didn't get sick on trains. I laughed to myself and slowly fell asleep to the sound of the train chugging...

-~\*/~-

My eyes fluttered open and slowly I sat myself up straight.

"How far away are we?" I asked. The train was now a lot more crowded and what had been an empty compartment just to us, was almost full.

"Only another ten odd minutes." Leah answered curtly. Wow what was up with her?

I looked out the window at the buildings racing by. _Urgh_, I was still exhausted. It didn't feel like I'd slept at all.

Finally the train pulled into the station and we stood up to go. As we left Leah glared at the woman who had been sat next to her.

"What did she do to you?" I asked as we jumped off the train onto the platform.

"She kept trying to talk to me."

"Oh how terrible that must've been for you." God, did she need to work on her social skills.

We left the station and followed the scent into the city centre.

"Is that what I think it is?" Leah grinned.

"Um...?"

"A record shop!" Her face was glowing. "Can we go in?!"

"Um." I didn't think I'd ever seen her so excited. It was unnerving.

"Come on. I let you sleep."

"How does a record shop and me sleepi-..." She walked off as I was still talking. "You know what don't worry."

I sighed and followed her in. Now I was in here I was glad we'd come in. I hadn't so much as looked at the back of a record for a while. Leah had already disappeared so I walked around alone.

The song playing changed and some lovely deep male voice filled my ears. I was shocked to notice he was singing in English. Though this shop did seem very cultured in its music, it had all nationalities. I smiled and walked up to the desk.

"Um..." I pulled out my phrase book. "Che è questa canzone?"

The man smiled at my awful Italian.

"Elvis Presley." He answered in English. "You like?"

"Very much." I nodded.

He directed me over to a corner of the shop. I looked through the records in what looked like the 'new artists' section. I pulled out the one I was looking for. _Elvis Presley_. Oh was he a nice looking young man. He looked only about 20.

Leah walked past me then. She seemed to be carrying a small record player and an acoustic guitar. Piled on top of those were a handful of records.

"Um," I frowned. "I don't want to ruin this moment for you but how are you going to plug that in?" I nodded towards the record player.

"You're going to be sleeping in more hotels."

"Oh." Well that was good enough for me. "In that case buy this too." I put the Elvis Presley record on top of hers. She looked at it sceptically.

"Are you serious?"

"Can you not see how good looking he is?" I defended myself. "Plus he sings like an _angel_."

"How old are you? Thirty something now? Thirty-eight?"

"Thirty-_three_." I pursed my lips.

"All the same. I don't think you should be lusting after a twenty-one year old."

"I don't _look_ thirty-two." I frowned. "And besides you're how old?"

She didn't answer. "Let's just buy this."

I smiled to myself and followed her to the desk.

* * *

**Yes it is 2010. Yes I am a 17 year old girl. Yes I have Elvis Presley on my IPod.**

**Guess I'm just cool like that ;)**

**Loves~**

**PepperX**


	7. Too Late

**Milan, Italy**** – 1956**

"Too late," I sighed. "Yet a-_fucking_-gain."

Leah said nothing, she just stared out at the scene of destruction in front of us. It looked just like all the other villages this had happened to. The bloody bodies were strewn all over the street and from behind one of the houses sickly sweet smoke fumes were polluting the air.

"We should… tidy this up." She said quietly. "See if there's any survivors."

I nodded and without another word we split up. I went into one wreckage, trying not to look at the bodies around me, and looked around for any survivors. As I walked across the wrecked landing I stepped on some glass. I bent down to find it was a photo frame. I picked it up and looked at the picture inside. It was a group of about six or seven very well built young men. Their familiar build was unmistakable – they'd all been wolves. I went into my bag and pulled out my own picture. I held it next to the one in the broken frame. They could've been a part of the same family they looked so alike. A tear dripped down my face as I traced my finger along the faces of my pack, _my_ _family_…

"_Come on lads," Michael frowned at the two wrestling on the floor. "The photographer won't be here for very much longer." They ignored him and he sighed. "MatthewHallaway and Jack Pascal, get _up_."_

"_Yes sir." Matthew, his younger brother, jumped up and clicked his heels together in a mocking fashion._

"_Matt, you shouldn't disrespect the Queen's army." Jack frowned as he got off the grass and dusted himself off. "They do a great service for us, keeping our women and children safe."_

"_What makes you think we need help?" I snorted as I handed Matthew his jacket._

"_Well you're part man anyway..." Jack winked at me. I lunged at him with a growl and he dodged me, making a crowing noise._

"_Don't antagonise her Jack." Michael shook his head. "And Matt, don't disrespect our soldiers. Especially as I'm joining up this summer." He straightened his back up proudly._

"_Oo-oo!" The two boys chorused. I laughed._

"_You sure that's not less to do with defending our country and more to do with picking up ladies?" Jack winked._

"_Hey none of that sort of content in front of girls."_

_I rolled my eyes. I didn't know why he bothered. I had to share a mind with these monkeys anyway. My mind was tainted enough already. It could hardly get worse._

"_The photographer's getting grouchy." My brother Daniel stuck his head out the door. _

"_Okay," Michael pushed Jack and his brother towards the door. "Get a move on."_

"_You know," Matthew crossed his arms and rooted himself to the spot. "Just because you're my older brother and alpha," He grinned. "It doesn't mean you have the right to tell me what to do."_

"_I think you'll find it does."_

"_Hurry up!" My father shouted from inside the house. _

_Jack began to rush to the door, for some reason he found my father scary. I had no idea why, he was only human after all._

"_Woops-a-daisy," Matthew laughed as he tripped Jack up. "Ladies first." He smiled and gestured for me to walk in. _

"_Why thank you Matthew." I laughed and went in through the door. How could Bella choose Alexander over someone has funny as Matt? If he wasn't like a brother to me, I'd be fighting to be his wife._

"_Excellently done," Michael congratulated him as they followed. "Just how I taught you little brother."_

"_You wait Hallaway," Jack growled jokingly at Matt. "You're _mine_."_

_I smiled and shook my head. Boys…_

I wiped my wet face with my sleeve and put the photograph back in my bag with a sniff. Carefully I placed the broken frame on a table that seemed to have survived and went back to my original job.

Finally we'd checked all the houses and found no survivors. We collected up anything that could be useful to us and burnt the village, destroying all evidence of what had happened here.

"She went this way."

"You sure?"

"I can smell it."

We followed her scent into a hotel, _L'hotel de Grange_. It was fairly busy so we weren't noticed. We continued to follow the smell up the stairs to the top floor.

"This one." Leah pointed to the room marked 307.

"Let's see if anyone's in." I smiled and knocked. The door opened and a horrible sickly sweet smell hit my nose. I almost choked. It smelt even worse than Leah.

"Posso aiutarla?" The bloodsucker at the door asked.

"What do you think?" Leah asked me. "Witness?"

"Definatly." I nodded.

"What do you want?" The leech said in perfect English with only a touch of an Italian accent. Leah rolled her eyes and made to walk inside. "Excuse me, you can't just walk in here." He frowned. "I'll get the hotel management on you."

"Move." Leah shoved him out her way and I shut the door behind us.

"She was here." I confirmed. "I can smell her."

"Who are you-…" The leech began.

"Be quiet." Leah snapped and he fell silent. "Split up." She nodded to me.

I nodded in agreement. We split and checked through the hotel room. I checked out the bedroom.

"In here." I called and Leah was there in a second. "Smells the worst in here." I picked up a woman's skirt that absolutely reeked of her, wrinkling my nose in disgust. "She's definatly been here.

"Hey you," Leah rounded on the bloodsucker who had followed us into the room. "Whose stuff is this?"

"My-my girlfriend's." He stuttered, clearly petrified. I didn't blame him, Leah could get pretty scary.

"When did you last see her?" He didn't answer and she pushed him against the wall, cracking the plaster in the process. "I _said_ when did you last see her?"

"T-Tuesday."

_Tuesday_? Leah and I exchanged a glance. That was only five days ago! We were catching her up!

"Where did she say she was going?"

"V-Volterra."

Leah dropped him in shock.

"Where's that?" I asked, confused at her reaction.

"South a little." Leah muttered. What was up with her? She composed herself and grabbed the leech again. "Why didn't you go with her?"

"She t-told me to stay."

"She told you to _stay_?" I repeated. I didn't like the sound of that. There was something not quite right about it.

"That's what I said, dog." The leech spat.

"Watch your mouth, bloodsucker." I glared at him. "Remember who's in charge here."

"Did she say why?" Leah asked him.

"N-no."

"I don't like this." I frowned. "There's something not quite right here."

"I know, she doesn't love them and leave them. She loves them and _kills_ them…"

"I think we should get out of here."

"I agree." She pushed the leech into the main part of the hotel suite. "You, out now with us."

"Wait!"

"_What_?" She sighed and turned to me. "I thought you wanted to leave."

"Think about it, she told him to stay. What if she made it so something happens to kill him _if he leaves_?"

"Damn." She swore, knowing I was right.

"I'll bet you anything it's something that'll kill the humans here too. She always did like her spectacular deaths."

"Well if we leave him he'll leave himself at some point." Leah sighed. "We may as well get it over and done with now. We might be able to give the humans some chance of living."

I nodded. "You keep him there, I'll set the fire alarm off and get the humans out."

"Okay." She kept hold of the leech and I ran out into the corridor. I spotted the fire bell at the end and ran down to ring it.

"Done it." I said as I shut to room door behind me.

"What are y-…?" The bloodsucker began.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Leah growled and he fell silent again.

I don't know how long we stood there for as we waited for the humans to evacuate. At one point I wondered what they would think when they discovered there wasn't a fire. Then I realised that whatever spell Bella had left would most likely be the only thing that killed vampires – fire.

While I fidgeted and swapped legs, Leah and the other leech were eerily still. I looked away. I'd always found it creepy when bloodsuckers did that.

Finally the noise stopped.

"I think it's clear."

"Here we go…" I took a deep breath and lead the way out of the room. The second the bloodsucker stepped over the doorway there was a loud crack and a burst of flame. He was burning alive and didn't seem to be able to move. It was like his feet where glued to the floor. He shrieked with pain and waved his arms around trying desperately to get free.

I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away from the fire, burning my hands in the process. It didn't seem to work.

"The fire's spreading!"

I was so glad we'd evacuated the humans.

"He won't move," I said. "What're we going to do? We can't leave him."

"Wait," She suddenly grinned. _Wait? The bloody leech was burning alive!_ She ran back into the hotel suite and opened the window. _What was she-…?_

Her eyes went totally white and the cloudy weather outside began to change. The light grey clouds became black and there was a crack of thunder. Suddenly it began to pour with rain. I smiled, realising her plan. There was a huge gust of wind that almost blew the window from the wall. It carried a huge mass of the rain through so fast that it hit the back wall of the corridor, soaking me in the process.

It seemed to have put the leech out and he slumped to the ground, now able to move again. Leah rushed over and picked him up.

"We need to leave."

"I'll say," I said as I wrung the water out of my hair. Leah watched me with an amused expression. "I see you managed to keep yourself bone dry." I commented sourly.

"Of course." She grinned and dragged the burnt leech to the exit.

* * *

**Yeah, Beccer and Leah frequently find themselves in destruction scenes like that... Bella kinda leaves a trail of destruction where ever she goes... **

**Lmao**

**Loves ~**

**PepperX**


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